Indiana Dog License History by Diane E. Bandy
The act of licensing canines across America started in the early 1800’s. We have evidence of handwritten paper license documents from as early as 1825 in the state of North Carolina. The fees charged to dog owners would compensate farmers for injured or killed sheep, livestock and poultry. Unlicensed dogs were considered nuisances. A dog who was licensed in Indiana, had certain privileges of running at large and escaping a death sentence imposed by officials. A dog who ran at large, licensed and not bothering livestock was also protected legally. If someone shot a licensed, non provoking dog, they could be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined anywhere from $5-$50 along with liabilities to the owner for injury or death. In 1861 the general assembly stated that every dog owner must register their dog on the first Monday in January of each year. There was gender bias in the form of differential license fees: males were registered at a fee of .50 while female dogs were charged $1 and more.
The state of Indiana is one of few American states that have issued dog license tags by the state instead of being issued through cities or counties. With that being said, in 1944 Indiana designated the county that the identical-shaped planchets were issued through, with a two digit prefix added before the serial number. This is in practice today. The photos I have provided depict this coding system - #15 is attributed to Dearborn county and #73 is attributed to Shelby county. All 92 counties are given a prefix code.
The earliest metal, dog license tag known to exist in America is from the Corporation of Fredericksburg, Va., 1853. We also have evidence of 2 tags from 1869 that were issued in the city of Savannah-C.S. The earliest Hoosier state metal dog tax/license tag was issued in 1878 and expired in 1879. This oldie is from Indianapolis.
A metal detecting friend of mine generously shared the Boone Township license with me for documenting. It was issued in 1883 and expired in April of 1884 as imprinted on the tag. This does not coincide with the license renewal status above which was implemented on January of each year because a new act was implemented in 1881. This Boone Tp. tag has a serial number of 148 and is made of brass. The 2 large slot holes were to be attached to a dog collar by way of sliding it through the tapered end of the leather. This tag is bent at the slots in a downward fashion which enables the tag to rest favorably onto the collar. This tag’s rarity and condition might fetch $400-$600 from certain collectors of Indiana memorabilia. If however, another one surfaces, it’s value will plummet because there is a thin and declining dog license tag collector base who is willing to pay premium prices. Dug tags that have fissures, broken loopholes, surface corrosion or those that are common will not be valued at premium prices.
Indiana is one of only 13 states that issued state-shaped metal tags. These are accounted for in a select number of years only. As shown in the picture, there are two varieties of aluminum and one variety of brass, state-shaped licenses. Documented, Indiana 19th century dog licenses came in a variety of shapes-bells, hearts, dog heads, maltese crosses, round, irregular and shield shaped tags.
There are hundreds of known, pre-1900 dog licenses attributed to Indiana. Over 340 of these are the fancy, round, state seal embossed tags from 1882 and are currently being unearthed by metal detecting enthusiasts. I have seen prices of this tag range from $9.99-$50 on the internet in 2008. Most of the 1882 tags do not have a township name on them. Finally, there are military base rabies tags from Indiana; but both bases are now closed. They are Ft. Benjamin Harrison and Grissom AFB.
Thank you for allowing me to submit this article to hardworking treasure hunters in America’s Heartland. Please check out my educational, hobby website at www.DogLicense.org and click on the Dog Bytes icon for up- to- date, complimentary articles. I am photo documenting pre-1900 dog tax/license tags so feel free to send color Xerox copies or scans of your treasures* I also buy dog licenses from the pre 1900’s until 1920 from anywhere in the world. Call anytime if you want to sell your finds. I reside in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania (412) 635-9439
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